Fishing Reports at Fireside Lodge: Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 8/31 to 9/7 2013

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 8/31 to 9/7 2013

Giant Trophy Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada by Bill Calhoon

This week came in with the 1^st day hot & humid, the 2^nd day we had a sever cold front, but then it turned gorgeous for the rest of the week.

Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fly Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada Nick Althauser

Fly Fishing at Fireside Lodge in Canada by Nick Althauser

Fly Fishing Trophy Smallmouth at Fireside Lodge Canada by Deb Althauser

First time Fly-Fishers Nick & Debbie Althauser from Midway, AR came to Fireside Lodge to fly fish after being referred to us by good friends & Fireside Lodge guests, Dale & Rhona Fulton who own a resort and guide on the White River in Cotter, AR. DOA they wasted no time as they caught some nice Smallmouth Bass & Deb landed a Trophy 18”er. 1st day before the heavy rains came they caught a bunch of Smallmouth Bass with Nick catching a Trophy 18” Smallie, but broke his new fly rod in the process. 2^nd & 3^rd days described in there words was super. As fly fishers they caught a lot of Northern Pike & some great size Smallmouth Bass in the 15-17.5” range. Debbie & Nick said they never caught Smallmouth Bass as big or that fight as much. 4^th day a cold front came in dropping temps from a high of 80F to a high of 50F in 24 hours. This was a rest day except for the 2 hours that Nick fished in the late afternoon catching 8 Pike and 2 Smallmouth. 5^th day was a gorgeous weather day & the fishing was also good as they caught a lot of big Smallmouth Bass & Deb landed her 2^nd Trophy at 18.5”. 6^th & final day was good, despite the wind, catching Northern Pike & Smallmouth Bass with Nick landing another 18” Trophy. Both had a great trip & went home with many photos of wildlife & made wonderful memories.

Tremendous Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada

BIG Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada by Colleen Stack

Fun Fishing Big Smallmouth at Fireside Lodge Canada by Bill

Harry & Susan Vilsack from Pittsburgh, PA & Larry & Betty Schiffenhaus from Essex Fells, NJ returned for their 8^th & 5^th time. DOA they went out for just a few hours and got good action on Smallmouth Bass. 1 ^st day we had a severe cold front with a high of only 50F so Harry braved the elements by himself and caught some Northern Pike & Smallmouth Bass while Betty & Susan continued their tradition of doing a puzzle, with this years choice being a Hummingbird. They work on the puzzle every morning before breakfast & in the evening. 2^nd day had the group fishing getting a lot of follows, caught a few Pike & some Smallmouth Bass. It was a beautiful day & they took advantage of it by having a shore lunch at Twin Falls. 3^rd day was windy which limited their fishing & their catch but they still caught a few nice fish. 4^th day had Harry catching a nice 33” Pike & all caught Smallmouth Bass. 5^th & final day they all enjoyed the wilderness surrounding them while catching some fish & enjoyed lunch cooked over an open fire at their favorite spot, Hudson Bay Narrows.

Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing Smile at Fireside Lodge Canada by Bill

Many Pike this size Fishing Fireside Lodge Canada Fran Stack

1^st timers, brothers Leo & Larry Priebe from & Walter Henkels from Westchester, IL were referred to us from good friend Al Katona. DOA was very productive catching Smallmouth Bass & Larry landed a Trophy measuring 19”. First day they faced a cold front with temps dropping 30 degrees but still had a good day catching Smallmouth Bass. 2^nd day Walter did well catching 10 Smallmouth Bass & Leo & Larry caught Bass & a few Pike. 3^rd day was very windy which cause problems with boat control, but they stll caught some fish. 4^th day they decide to use live leeches, which made a huge difference as they had a “FABULOUS” day catching 78 Smallmouth Bass with a lot being 16-17.5” & Larry caught another Trophy at 18”. 5^th day was even better catching 83 Smallmouth Bass with Walter having the hot hand catching 40 himself, and he & Leo both caught Trophy Smallmouth Bass over 18”. 6^th & final day Walter took off from fishing but Leo & Larry portaged to a Smallmouth / Muskie Lake having some Muskie action & landed 38 nice Smallmouth Bass most 16-17.5”. Great finish to a Great Fishing trip at Fireside Lodge.

Monster Trophy Northern Pike Fishing Fireside Lodge Canada by Bryan Neel

Tim Stewart & Bryan Neel from Rochester, MN returned for their 2^nd trip this year & DOA they

GIANT Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada by Fran Stack

caught some Northern Pike 25-30”. 1^st day they caught many more Northern Pike 25 to 32” and their 2^nd day was hot action on Northern Pike up to noon, then they only caught 5 up until suppertime. 3^rd day was windy just like they like it & they caught a lot of Northern Pike between 25-35”, but not the trophy size Pike they were looking for. 4^th day that changed as they not only caught plenty of Northern Pike but several in the high 30” range, 36, 38 and Bryan landed a monster 40” Trophy Northern Pike. By the way these two fish for Smallmouth Bass for about an hour a day & catch between 5-10 nice Smallmouth every day however the long toothy critters is what they prefer. 5^th day they caught a lot of average size Northern Pike between 26 to 33” along with a few 34-35”ers. 6^th & final day was about the same as the 5^th until after supper. In Pre-storm conditions they caught a 36”, 38” & Bryan again caught a Trophy 42.5” Northern Pike. Fabulous end to another Fabulous fishing trip for these two fishing buddies.

Trophy Northern Pike at Fireside Lodge Canada by Fran Stack

Fabulous Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada by Colleen Stack

Fran & Coleen Stack from Lorain, OH returned for their 10^th year. DOA was a great start catching 10 Pike & 6 Smallmouth Bass 13-16”. 1 ^st day was very good catching 7 Northern Pike & 16 Smallmouth Bass ranging in size from 13to 17.5”. 2^nd day they said was fabulous Smallmouth bass fishing catching many 13-16” Smallmouth Bass, a few at 17” plus & Colleen caught a “BIG” 18.5” Trophy. 4^th day they survived the wind catching some Smallies & Pike. 5^th day was another great day as they caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass and 9 Northern Pike up to 33”. Colleen really did well catching a lot of the Smallmouth Bass. Last day they caught a mix of Northern Pike & Smallmouth, but the catch of the week came when Fran landed a HUGE 42” Trophy Northern Pike. What a great way to finish another memory making fishing trip to Fireside Lodge.

Many Muskie Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Jon Rheinhardt

Lot of BIG Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada

Musky Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada by Bob Rheinhardt

Father & son Bob & Jon Reinhardt from AR & N Aurora, Il returned for their 15^th year & their 1st day had them getting a ton of follows, saw about 10 BIG fish but caught very few Northern Pike. They did however catch a lot of nice Smallmouth Bass 15-17”. 2^nd day They caught some Pike & Smallmouth Bass & saw some big fish they could not hook up on but just before supper caught 2 nice Muskie. 3^rd day was a repeat of the 2^nd and they caught 2 Muskie between 35-36.5”. They were also seeing what they came for which were a lot of HUGE Muskie / Pike following their lures. John had a HUGE one well over 50” up to the boat several times. 4^th day they caught a lot of Pike in search of the trophy. 5^th day was super as they caught so many Pike that in Just 1 spot they caught 33 Northern Pike, most between 28-35”, & Bob said they could have caught 100 if they landed everyone the had hit or hooked. They had another “GREAT” father & son trip at Fireside Lodge for Bob & Jon.

Great BIG Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada by Bob R

1^st timers the Mckeague Group made up of Art Mckeague, Mike O’Neil, Louie Fandazza, Tim, & Vil all from the Mississauga, Ontario area.

GREAT Muskie Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada by Bob Rheinhardt

1^st day Art & Mike had a great day catching Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike & Mike caught a 31” Pike & a Trophy 18.5” Smallmouth Bass. Tim, Louie, & Vil, also did great chasing & catching a lot of bigger Northern Pike in hunt for the trophy Pike or Musky. 2^nd day the wind caused some problems, however all caught some nice Northern Pike trolling. 3^rd day had them catching 26 Northern Pike as a group. Their 4^th & final day had them with a strong finish catching 57 Northern Pike. All enjoyed their stay very much & said in 30-years they never stayed at a lodge with such nice accommodations & service, and such good equipment. They all left saying that we would see them again.

BIG Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada by Bill Calhoon

Giant Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Jerry Amer

Great BIG Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada by Jerry Amer

Long time return guests since 2002 Jerry Amer & Bill Calhoon from Columbus, OH were back but for the 1^st time in September so they were slightly anxious about a possible learning curve. Well it did not take these guys long as on their DOA they did “FABULOUS” & in only a half day the caught 27 Smallmouth Bass between 16 to 18.5” with Bill landing the trophy, and he also caught a nice 33” Northern Pike. 1^st full day they had high winds, which limited their locations & presentation but still caught some nice fish. 2^nd day had them catching a bunch of Northern Pike at a portage lake in the morning & then catching a bunch of nice Smallmouth Bass throughout the rest of the day. 3^rd day was a portage to a Muskie / Smallmouth lake which had them catching some nice Smallmouth Bass & having a lot of Musky action catching two, with Jerry landing the largest being a 36” Muskie. There final 24 hours were terrific as they caught over 30 Smallmouth Bass their way, on a surface popper while fly-fishing. They also caught a bunch of Northern Pike including a 34” & 36”. Bill, besides landing a Trophy 18.5” Smallmouth Bass, caught a “GIANT” Trophy 42” Northern Pike. What a Great finish to a “FABULOUS” fishing trip for these two long time fishing buddies. They are already reserved for their dates in 2014.

BIG Musky Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada by Jerry Amer

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Many BIG Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada by Bill Calhoon

Hot Lures: Bucktail, Tube Jigs, Leeches, Mepps, Sinking Worm, Jointed Rapala, Spinner Baits, Blue Fox Spoinner, Various larger Soft Plastic Baits, Buck-Tail

Hot Flies: Poppers, Wooly Bugger, Articulated Flies, Leech Pattern

Catches of The Week: Two 42.5” Northern Pike a 42” & 40”, 3-38” & Many 34-36”, Smallmouth 19”, with 12 between 18-18.5”

Many Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada Bill Calhoon

Special Note: This was our last open week at Fireside Lodge for 2013 so Audrey & I want to give a “BIG THANKS” to all of our guests this year, and for the last 24-years who have helped us achieve our life goals here at Fireside Lodge. We have made memories and friendships over the years that we never anticipated and will cherish for the rest of our lives. Thank you again and hope to see some of you in 2014, Sincerely Audrey & Alan.